


Right Where I Need to Be

by in_motu_proprio



Series: Here and Now [1]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Daisy/Sousa, Episode: s7e6, F/M, Getting Together, Hurt/Comfort, Sousy, dousy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-03
Updated: 2020-07-04
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:08:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25042927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/in_motu_proprio/pseuds/in_motu_proprio
Summary: This is the continuation of episode 7 X 06 where Daisy and Daniel are kidnapped and held.  They get back to Zephyr 1 and the story picks up as Daisy is recovering.
Relationships: Skye | Daisy Johnson/Daniel Sousa
Series: Here and Now [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1815637
Comments: 31
Kudos: 286





	1. Chapter 1

“You feeling up for some company,” Daniel asked with a quiet knock to Daisy’s open door. Daisy sat up in bed with a little grunt, wincing as something moved the wrong way. “Yeah, please. I’ve been on these word searches for the last hour and I’m so bored.” 

“I brought some soup if you’re up for it,” Daniel said producing a container from behind his back. 

“You just saved me a trip, yes I’m up for it,” she said with a nod, patting the edge of her bed. There was nowhere else to sit so Daniel gently settled in sitting facing her with the soup out on offer. “Spoon,” she asked. 

Daniel reached into his jacket, producing a spoon with a nod. “Thought you might need one.” 

“I’ve got a spoon somewhere,” Daisy said with a nod to a small counter space with a few dishes on it from the mess they had in the belly of the ship. Daniel found that, despite the advanced technology, this place ran a lot like a regular old base in a lot of ways. “Again, though, anything that prevents me getting out of bed right now is a plus."  
“Simmons said the imbalance of spinal fluid was going to give you one hell of a headache. How’s that been?” He opened another pocket and produced an ice pack, “she said it’s a crack and use ice pack.” Daniel smiled a little and offered the ice pack to Daisy who happily took it. 

“You’re just all full of presents, aren’t you?” 

“Just those two.” Daniel told her giving her a small smile. “Made the soup myself out a can Deke assured me was one of your favorites.” He took the lid off the container and set it aside, “chicken and stars.” 

“Thank you,” Daisy said, reaching out to touch Daniel’s hand. He stayed still, letting her give his hand a little squeeze. “For everything.” They hadn’t really talked a whole lot about what happened to her or to them since returning to Zephyr 1. Daniel had a sudden, visceral image of the glass Daisy had hidden in her hand covered in her blood. “Hey,” she asked quietly, “you ok?” 

“Yeah, yes,” he corrected himself, sitting up a little taller. 

“Simmons said you stayed with me the whole time I was in medical,” Daisy said casually while sipping a little liquid off the top of her soup. “Thank you for that. You didn’t have to.” 

“I was where I needed to be,” Daniel answered confidently trying not to pay attention to the scattered skipping of his heartbeat as she continued to hold his hand. It had been awhile since he’d felt those feeling and after Peggy he hadn’t been sure he’d be able to feel them again. “How are you recovering,” he asked. 

“Steadily I’m told,” Daisy sighed. “Still out of commission for another day or two I think but after that you’ll have to tie me down to keep me out of the field.” Daniel shook his head. “What, enough handcuffs for you in that barn,” she teased. 

“Quite enough,” he assured her, leaning back a little on one elbow. His leg was throbbing today. Simmons had mentioned getting him a better prosthetic and he was all for it but today he was having the same old problem he’d had since the amputation, phantom pains and constant throbbing. “How’s everything else?” 

“It’s not the first time I’ve been held or experimented on.” Daisy said, getting a shocked look from Sousa who was offended on her behalf. “Really, I’m made of tough stuff,” she told Daniel patting his knee. 

“I could tell. When you showed me that glass,” he let out a low whistle. “You’ve got a lot of fight in you, Daisy.” 

“I could say the same about you,” she told him with a little smile that warmed Daniel to the core. “Thank you again for getting me out of there.” 

“We were very lucky,” Daniel told her with a reassuring smile. They chatted for awhile until Daisy looked tired and a little pale. “I should go, let you get some rest,” he said squeezing her ankle lightly through the blankets. 

“Sousa,” Daisy said softly as he got up, tossing the container for her chicken and stars long since finished. 

“Yeah?"  
“Thank you for coming to see me. Healing sucks when you’re alone, it’s a little easier when there are people around.” She sat up, tugging on his tie until he was close enough to kiss on the cheek. “You’re a good guy.” Daniel couldn’t say anything just smiled and slipped out the door to a little privacy, a little breathing space away from Daisy Johnson.


	2. Chapter 2

It took Daniel a couple of days of bringing Daisy soup to realize that maybe he had a little sweet tooth for Miss Johnson. On the third day when he came to bring her soup for dinner, he was greeted by a note: 

_Meet me in the gym._ So she was feeling better then. Daniel followed the corridors up to the gym where he found Daisy on a treadmill, running. Daniel missed running. He missed a few things when it came to his leg but he didn’t begrudge her the good exercise at all. “You look a heck of a lot better,” he said.

“It’s amazing what a shower and a little movement will do for the soul,” Daisy told him standing on the sidebars of the treadmill as they talked, turning down the speed a little. “You should change into some gym clothes and come work out with me,” she invited. 

“I can’t exactly keep up with you on the treadmill,” Daniel told her with a small frown at admitting his disability would keep him back. 

“What about in the sparring ring? Want to go a few rounds?” 

Daisy was presumably skilled in hand to hand combat and able to hold her own. “Where can I find some gym clothes?” Daisy directed him and Daniel disappeared for a few minutes before coming back out in something more appropriate for the sparring ring. 

“What is this made of,” he asked a little uncomfortably as he tried to adjust himself without touching himself with a quick rock side to side in the strange, very tight pants. 

“Spandex,” she said. “And guys usually wear a pair of shorts over them.” Daniel turned bright red his hands migrating south to cover up a bit. “It’s ok. But if you wanted to….”

“I want to,” he hurried away feeling the burn of her eyes on his backside. He returned a minute later with loose shorts over the spandex pants. “Better,” he asked and Daisy nodded, a little smirk on her lips. 

“I didn’t mind it the other way,” she teased getting him to blush. “You look good with a blush.” Daisy walked past him, brushing her shoulder against his as she headed to the ring. “Come on,” she said. “My soup’s getting cold.” 

“There’s this miraculous small oven in the mess where you can just punch in a time and the food heats in minutes.” 

“Are you being facetious?” 

“It is kind of miraculous,” Daniel told her with a smile. “The microwave.” Sometimes he still couldn’t get over the fact that he was in the future. 

“Loser microwaves my soup,” Daisy was asking for terms. They got down to the nitty gritty of it, best three out of five points won. They had the same scoring system in the future that they’d had when Daniel was working for SHIELD so that was easy enough. 

“So final terms, loser makes the winner an actual dinner one night. Nothing from a can.” Daniel agreed, holding out his hand to shake on it. She did, smirking, “hope you can cook, Sousa. I like my meat medium rare.” 

They took their sides then and went for it. Daisy easily scored the first point, taking Daniel off guard with how aggressive a fighter she was. She reminded him of Peggy’s fighting style at least in the outward aggression. Daisy wasn’t afraid of anything and Daniel liked watching that in a woman. Fearlessness was a huge turn on for him and he was having trouble containing himself as he watched her try for a roundhouse kick that he just barely got away from. “You’re quicker on your feet than I’d have given you credit for,” Daisy told him. 

“Next round we fight with weapons and I bring my cane in,” he teased rounding and grabbing her at the shoulders, putting her on the mat for the required three seconds before earning his point. They were tied at two to two and the next point was the winner. Daniel did not want to lose this one and went a little harder for the last point. Daisy, too, redoubled her efforts and they were fighting hard, ending up rolling around on the floor grappling by the end. Daniel would have been a liar if he said he didn’t enjoy rolling around on the floor with this beautiful woman even if she had an elbow in his side at a very painful angle. 

He might not have wanted to lose, but the opportunity to have another meal with Daisy was on the line. And a real meal, not soup from a can. He could do that, hell he wanted to do that. He wanted to do that _a lot_ , so Daniel relaxed a moment allowing her to gain the upper hand and pin him. Daisy held the pin a little longer than necessary, their breaths synching up at some point. 

“Medium rare you said,” Daniel joked as he came out of her pin, smiling a little bit despite his loss. 

“You don’t have to cook for me,” she said trying to let him off the hook. “Do you even know how to cook?”

“Guess you’ll have to find out.”


	3. Chapter 3

It took a few days but Daniel managed to scrounge up the necessary items for a decent dinner. He’d decided on steak and baked potatoes, something easy he could manage with his eyes closed. The problem was steaks were a lot bigger now a days and a lot more expensive. Money wasn’t an issue, he’d been given an allowance from SHIELD for walking around and had managed to save almost all of it thus far. But that wouldn’t be the case for long. The trip through the grocery store nearly killed him, but Daniel managed to keep track of the steep prices and giant quantities as he shopped. 

Once he had everything he needed and had made it back to Zephyr 1, he found his way to Daisy’s room, quietly knocking on her door. Daisy answered a few moments later with a smile when she saw it was him. That warmed Daniel a bit, made him feel a little unsteady on his feet. “Hi.”

“Hi,” Daisy returned, looking at the bag he was holding. 

“I went grocery shopping. How do steaks sound tonight around seven?” 

“You went … I told you that you didn’t have to do this, but if you’re sure,” she said softly peeking into the bag. 

Daniel gently slapped her hand away, shaking his head. “You’ll see what else I’m serving tonight. Conference room’s the only place I’ve come across that’s got a table. Does that sound ok?” 

“That sounds great,” Daisy said with a little nod. “I can’t believe you went grocery shopping in the 1980’s.”  
“You and me both,” he said with a laugh thinking of the magazines at the checkout counter. “Is seven alright for you,” Daniel asked. 

“Seven’s great. Can I bring anything?” 

“Just yourself.” 

Daniel headed off in the direction of the mess hall in hopes that this dinner would turn out well. He hadn’t cooked in awhile but it was like riding a bike, right? It turned out that after he nearly crisped some rolls he was trying to make, he had mostly good luck from there. Daniel worked on the food until it was what he needed it to be, appetizing. He loaded it all up onto a little cart and wheeled it down the hallway toward the conference room. He’d been expecting to be the first there considering it was 6:45, but found that Daisy was already waiting for him looking a real treat. 

She’d put on a dress and pulled her hair up in a bun with tendrils of hair framing her face. Daniel came up short in the doorway, just staring at her as she bent to pour some wine. “Some wine was the least I could do for what smells like a great meal,” Daisy said straightening up. She smoothed her hands over the front of her dress, head cocked to the side because it was taking him too long to answer. 

“You look real swell, Daisy. Real swell.” Daniel couldn’t keep his eyes off of her as she moved in closer, his heart skittering around in his chest like a scared cat. 

“Can I help?” 

“… no,” he said it a little too loud and a little too firm so he repeated it quieter and gentler. “No. Please sit. I’ve got this.” 

Daisy sat at the corner of the conference table, crossing her legs at the knee and almost killing him right then and there. “Where did you get that dress?” 

“You can go shopping,” she waved at the food he was setting out, “so can I.” 

“You sure can. Purple’s a nice color on you,” he complimented quietly as he set down Daisy’s plate. She flushed a little and he was glad to see he wasn’t the only one doing that today. 

“Thank you.” She sat waiting for him to get situated before picking up her silverware. “This smells incredible,” Daisy said leaning forward to get a good whiff of the spices he’d used. The pickings were slim in the mess but he’d managed to buy some garlic and that was always good with a steak. 

“Bon appetite,” Daniel told her picking up his silverware and cutting into his steak. He’d gone for medium rare on both steaks and had gotten it just right on his so hopefully hers was as well. When she let out a positively sexual groan on her first bite, Daniel had to assume he’d done something correct. “I’ll take that as a compliment,” Daniel said with a laugh feeling lighter for it. He always felt that way around Daisy, though, a little lighter a little more optimistic. 

“This is so good. It’s been forever since I’ve had a steak this good.” Daisy took another bite, groaning again though not as loud this time. “Try it, you’ll see what I mean.” Daniel took his first bite, nodding in agreement with her. It was good, but he’d have agreed to just about anything when it came to Daisy. Somewhere between cooking this dinner for her and seeing her in that dress, Daniel realized what a fool for her he was. 

“It is good,” he agreed. 

“Thank you. I really needed some time to not think about any of the stuff going on around us. I feel like we should be doing stuff like this for you considering you’re out of your time and all,” Daisy said ending quietly as though she didn’t know if she ought to say it. 

“Better out _of_ my time than just out of time,” she raised her glass to that and he echoed. The conversation flowed easily from there, stories of where they were from and how they’d joined SHIELD were exchanged as they ate and drank. In his time or out of it, Daniel hadn’t had such a good time in a very long time. The conversation was smooth, the food and drink were good, and the company was out of this world. The night went far too quickly and soon enough he was offering up a slice of lemon cheesecake that Daisy looked very excited over. 

“You went all out, remind me to bet with you again,” Daisy said. 

“If you’d have lost what would you have cooked,” Daniel asked as he tried the cheesecake. 

“Burgers probably… or stir fry.” Daniel nodded as though he knew what that second thing was but she caught him. “Have you had stir fry?” She slid her fork down into the cheesecake, bringing the bite to her lips and maintaining all his attention. “Daniel?” 

“Sorry,” he shook his head. “No, I haven’t had stir fry at least not that I know.” 

“Ok, then we’d have stir fry for sure,” she told him. “Something new.” She smiled and slid her bite of cheesecake into her mouth, groaning softly at the taste. “Maybe this cheesecake for dessert again, though. Wow. You didn’t make that, did you?” 

“I would have no idea how to make that,” Daniel confessed. “There was a bakery in the store.” “Oh,” Daisy smiled, “still delicious.” They ate their cake and finished their wine, enjoying each other’s company. Daniel was a little buzzed and more than a little focused on the soft curve of Daisy’s lips and how they’d feel against his. Maybe it was because they were eating but his eyes just kept being drawn to the cupid’s bow of her mouth. He told himself not for the first time that he really needed to not let this become a thing. He’d get distracted and that wasn’t safe for anyone. 

When the food was done, Daisy helped him bring the dishes back to the mess and clean up, donning an apron to keep the water off of her dress. All it did in Daniel’s eyes was accentuate her already trim waist and ample bosom. He was dying by the time they finished the dishes and told himself over and over again not to get his hopes up. Romance just wasn’t meant for him. Romance had always crashed and burned for him, so why in the world would it work now? 

Still, he walked Daisy to her door and was in the process of bidding her goodnight when she leaned in and pressed her lips to his. There was nothing coy or unsure about it. He’d been seconds away from saying good-night and being on his way when she just kissed him bold as brass. Daniel adored it. “Daisy,” he asked quietly once the kiss broke, voice a little gravely. 

“Want to come in for a couple minutes?” Not wanting this night to end for anything in the world, Daniel nodded and followed her into her room, hand-in-hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is where this sweet little teen rated romp ends. If you'd like to see the smutty continuation, please read on to the next story in the collection, By My Side.


End file.
